United States Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) speaks to the media after he is sworn in to in the old Senate Chamber at the Capitol on Thursday, February 4, 2010, in Washington, D.C. Last month, Brown won a special election for the seat that was vacated by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)

Hey Scott Brown. You may be the truck-driving new senator from Massachusetts, but Mayor Gavin Newsomsays he can teach you a few things about job creation.

Brown, you may recall, made the comment earlier this month at his first Senate news conference that President Obama's stimulus program "didn't create one new job."

That's not what the Congressional Budget Office says, estimating the recovery program saved or created 600,000 to 1.6 million jobs in the third quarter of 2009.

"You can not, in good faith, make the argument that his (stimulus program) has not created a job," Newsom said Wednesday on the sidelines of a press briefing marking the one-year anniversary of the stimulus program. "That's an offensive statement. It's laughable on the surface." Newsom, saying he was "happy to point out thousands of people in this city that directly have been impacted, that have jobs today... because of the stimulus program," then offered to do just that.

"Any of those Republicans that want to challenge me on that, bring it on," Newsom said. "Bring on Scott Brown. Tell him to come out to San Francisco if he wants an education on the stimulus program."

We're still waiting to hear back from Brown's staff on Newsom's offer.

Office hours: Want to chat with the mayor about graffiti, off-leash dogs, Muni or whatever? You better call today for an appointment.

Taking a page from his predecessor, Willie Brown, Newsom will hold the first of several planned "open door" sessions on Friday for city residents. The 15-minute sessions are appointment-only and first-come, first-served. On Friday he'll meet with constituents at the Tenderloin and Mission District police stations. To get an appointment, call the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services at (415) 554-6683. They're expected to fill up quickly.

- John Coté

Sacramento bound? The mayor filed a ballot statement Wednesday, leaving open his option to run for lieutenant governor.

"It's time for us to finally shake up Sacramento and reform state government," the statement reads, touting his record on public health care, education and the environment.

As our colleagues Matier & Ross noted in their column, Newsom has been assembling a team for a possible run, and 5 p.m. Wednesday was the deadline to submit statements to appear in the voter guide.

Newsom told reporters that filing the necessary paperwork is not a clear indication that he'll run, and that he'll make up his mind in the "next couple of weeks."

Newsom said he was weighing the choice in "a much more deliberative way than most people probably imagine."

He doesn't have too much time to sit and think. The deadline to file his paperwork to run is March 12.

- John Coté

In the loop: Almost as often as they complain about being left standing at the corner by an overcrowded bus, Muni riders gripe about being left out of the loop when it comes to service cuts, fare increases and route changes.

But sometimes they complain when they're brought into the loop, too. Especially when it's a looped recording.

The Municipal Transportation Agency, which needs to cut $17 million from its budget that runs through June, has been playing a tape on its buses telling riders it wants their comments at sfmta.com.

"Can't I just ride in peace and read my paper?" one critic asked the Insider.

Agency spokesman Judson Truediplomatically responded: "Our system itself is the best way to get the message out that the input of our customers, on an issue so important, matters."

In other words, silence from riders could mean plenty of peace and quiet when their lines get cut.